Antenna reel



June 6, 1939. M HEI-NTZ ETAL 2,161,044

ANTENNA REEL Filed March 25, 1955 INVENTOR RALPH u. HEl/V rz. H r w. A. mun/mam.

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UNITED STATES OFFICE ANTENNA REFI 4 Ralph M. Heintz, Palo Alto, and-Henry W. A.

Gruenhagen, San Bruno, Calif.,' assignors to Heintz & Kaufman, Ltd. San Francisco, Calif., a corporation of Nevada i Application March 23,- 1935, Serial No. 12,708

.3 Claims, (01.173-367) Our invention relates to reels for the storage of wire and more particularly to an antenna reel adapted for use in aircraft.

The principal object of our invention. is to pro- 3 vide positive winding and unwinding of stored antenna wire. A further object of our invention is to providea means whereby an aeroplaneantenna can be quickly adjusted as to length, and to a specific length.

Other objects of our invention will be apparent or will be specifically pointed out in the description forming a part of this specification, but we do not limit ourselves to theembodiment of the invention herein described, as various forms may be adopted within the scope of theclaims.

Thebroad aspect of our invention may be more readily understood by reference to the drawing wherein Figure 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of our invention with a portion of the case removed and placed to one side to show the interior construction.

Figure 2 is a cross sectional view taken as indicated by the line 22 in Figure 1.

At the present time antenna reels for aircraft are commonly hand-operated and as such, usually are positioned in the plane at a point accessible'to the operator or passengers in the plane. The antenna reel of our invention, however, may be placed at a point in the aeroplane remote from any of its occupants and still be under the full control of the pilot or radio operator. In this manner, the leads from the radio set carrying high frequency may be made short and Well insulated and there is no danger of accidental contact with the radio frequency currents, this danger often occurring with hand-operated devices.

In its usual and preferred embodiment, our invention comprises a base plate I which supports a reel casing 2 by means of an insulating block 3. Mounted on the bed plate of the casing is a driven'gear wheel 4 which is rotated through a Worm gearing not shown in detail, enclosed in a casing 5. The worm gearing is driven through an insulated shaft 6 by a motor "I energized through leads 8, these leads being preferably connected to a source through a reversing switch under the control of the pilot or radio operator of the plane. The motor is supported by a motor bracket 9 ex- I tending from the base plate I. The gear wheel 4 is keyed to the worm gearing shaft I ll and maintained in place by a retaining nut H. The gear wheel 4 is provided not only with gear teeth l2, but with a peripheral wire groove I3, the groove I3 being formed in a narrow rim [4.

Also mounted in the case is a floating friction wheel assembly comprising a stationary friction wheel shaft I5 upon which is mounted a friction wheel Hi revolving on bearings l5 having a gear ring 'I'l thereon meshingwith gear teeth l2 on the gear wheel 4'; The periphery of the friction 5 wheel lfiis cut'to provide a gear wheel channel l8 which engages the narrow rim M of the gear wheel 4 and at the bottom of this channel is a friction channel l9 similar to the peripheral wire groove I3 and opposed thereto.

The friction wheel shaft l5 engages at each end in notches 20in a pressure bar 2| which is pivoted to theb'ottom of the reel casing by a pin 22 at one'jside of the wheel, 'having'an adjustable pressure'exerted'upon it by a pressure spring 23 held in position, controlled by a pressure bolt 24 screwed into aboss 25.

A cover 2'6 is provided for the casing. On the interior of this cover is centrally mounted a freely rotatable wire magazine 21 in which antenna wire 28 is stored in coils. Storage is accomplished by means of an overhanging magazine rim 29. The antenna wire passes through a guide 30 as it leaves the magazine to the rim thereof and then passes through the space between the two 25 wheels 4 and I6 left by the opposition of groove l3 and channel l9. These grooves are preferably cut to include less than one-half the wire cross section so that when they are together they form a total space between the wheels which is less than the total area of the cross section of the wire, thus the full force of spring 23 is exerted upon the wire and a positive drive is obtained. The wire leaves the wheels, passes through an outlet guide 3|, which prevents buckling of the wire, thence to be attached to the customary fish or antenna weight on the outside of the ship.

One of the disadvantages of the older types of antenna reels, however, is that the fish or antenna weight when inside the fuselage in a tube or other recess provided for it would not come out of the recess by gravity alone. Many times, also, it is not desirable for a fish of any great weight to be attached to the end of the antenna wire. A positive drive, therefore, is greatly to be desired, such as we have provided, in order that the wire with its attached stabilizer be positively forced out of the fuselage into the air stream. Furthermore, with a positive drive on the antenna wire, record may be kept of the amount of wire which is trail- 50 the motor and place the indicating instrument operated thereby on the dash close to the switch controlling the antenna wire. All that is necessary then to operate the reel is to start the motor revolving in a direction proper to force the wire out and away from the machine and then to adjust to the desired length by the indicator. After the antenna has been used and it is desired to reel in, the motor can be reversed and the wire fed back into the magazine, which, of course,

is freely revolving to accept or release wire.

We claim:

1. An antenna reel for aircraft comprising a foundation to be attached to said aircraft, a reel casing attached to and separated from said foundation by insulating material, a driven wheel fixed to said casing and having a peripheral wire channel thereon, an opposed movable feed wheel having a similar channel thereon, the combined channels being of lesser area than a wire to be driven, an antenna wire passing through said channels, means urging said channels together to grip said wire, a wire storage magazine having an overhanging rim rotatably attached to said casing, one end of said wire being directed tangentially from said wheels into the peripheral storage chamber of said magazine, the other end of said wire passing out of said casing, and a motor connected to said driven wheel through an insulating coupling, said motor being attached to said foundation.

2. An antenna reel for aircraft comprising a foundation to be attached to said aircraft, a reel casing attached to and separated from said foundation by insulating material, a driven wheel fixed to said casing and having a peripheral wire channel thereon, an opposed movable feed wheel having a similar channel thereon, the combined channels being of lesser area than a wire to be driven, an antenna wire passing through said channels, means urging said channels together to grip said wire, a wire storage magazine having an overhanging rim rotatably attached to said casing, one end of said wire being directed tangentially from said Wheels into the peripheral storage chamber of said magazine, the other end of said wire passing out of said casing, a motor connected to said driven Wheel through an insulating coupling, and a revolution counter connected to said motor, said motor being attached to said foundation.

3. An antenna reel for aircraft comprising a foundation to be attached to said aircraft, a reel casing attached to and separated from said foundation by insulating material, a driven wheel fixed to said casing and having a peripheral wire channel thereon, an opposed movable feed wheel having a similar channel thereon, the combined channels being of lesser area than a wire to be driven, an antenna wire passing through said channels, means urging said channels together to grip said wire, a wire storage magazine having an overhanging rim rotatably and removably attached to said casing, one end of said wire being directed tangentially from said wheels into the peripheral storage chamber of said magazine, the other end of said Wire passing out of said casing, a motor connected to said driven wheel through an insulating coupling, and a revolution counter connected to said motor, said motor being attached to said foundation.

RALPH M. HEINTZ. HENRY W. A. GRUENHAGEN. 

